Cowboy Gospel: Dark Religion
by Randall Flagg2000
Summary: REVISED AGAIN Ed is kidnapped by a strange religious cult leader and the bebop crew have to save her. Rated R for future scenes. COMPLETED! PLEASE READ IT!
1. Default Chapter

Hey, this is my first story so please read and review. Flame me all you want. Be warned that this story does have violence/ language/ torture. Enjoy. -Randall Flagg  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop or the characters or any biblical lines that may appear so don't sue, okay?  
  
It was just another day in the bebop. Spike was smoking, Jet was watering his bonsai trees, Faye was bitching about things, Ed was working on her tomato, and Ein was napping. None of the bebop, save for Ed and Ein, were in a very good mood. Once again they had found a large bounty and had failed to make a single woolong. While chasing after their previous bounty, a hit-man named Peter Anderson, Spike had fired his gun to stop him. Instead of hitting Anderson in the back as he had hoped, the bullet had hit him in the foot causing him to stumble and fall into an old quarry. Upon landing Anderson had jarred a large rock loose from a rock pile nearby and as luck would have it, the rock landed on the man's face and crushed it to a pulp. Since the face was destroyed the authorities could not identify the man and the bebop crew could not collect the bounty which had been a high 50,000,000 woolongs. Now the bebop was really desperate. If this kept up they'd be screwed for life. Little did they know that they would soon get the bounty of a lifetime.  
  
"There has to be a way that we can make some money somehow!" Faye said to nobody in particular.  
  
"Well we could go down to earth and have you work in the alleys if you know what I mean Faye." Spike said as he took another puff of his cigarette. A moment later Spike was massaging his knee where Faye had kicked him.  
  
"Shut up lunkhead!" Faye hissed. "I just want to find a way to make mucho dinero pronto so we can fix this dump!"  
  
"Well it was only a suggestion." Spike said. Their argument was interrupted by a squeal from another room.  
  
"Ed found a bounty! Ed found a bounty!" squealed the voice of a thirteen year old girl known as Edward Wong Hau Pepeleau Tiruvsky IV. At the mention of a bounty, Spike and Faye rushed to Ed's room to see what their new target was going to be. Jet was already there.  
  
"So who is it this time?" Spike asked. As if to answer his question the data on their new bounty popped up on the computer screen.  
  
Name: John Mathers.  
  
Age: 42  
  
Occupation: Minister, cult leader.  
  
Wanted for: Murder, kidnapping of men, women and children, destruction of government property.  
  
Information: Has been said to have been seen near Calisto. Also a former televangelist.  
  
Reward: 900,000,000 woolongs.  
  
Spike's eyes almost popped out of his head. 900,000,000 woolongs for just one guy? This guy must have done some serious shit. Spike saw that the others had seen the high price on this man. Jet's mouth had dropped open and Faye was staring at the screen of Ed's computer with glazed eyes. Spike chuckled when he saw that Faye was also drooling.  
  
"Faye Faye should wear a bib!" Ed giggled. Faye responded to this by snarling at the red head.  
  
"I don't know why a guy would be seen hanging around Calisto for. That place is nothing but ground and ice." Jet mused.  
  
"No doubt he'd use that to his advantage to cover himself up." Faye said.  
  
Spike got up. "Well if the guy's worth that much money, we should really get going. I'd like to take care of this one myself."  
  
"Are you crazy?!" Jet shouted. "This guy will probably have his followers with him! You'd be killed before you could blink."  
  
"Relax. I got into a lot of fights as a kid and most of them were four on one and I won easily."  
  
Ed scampered down the hallway after Spike and clung to his leg like a little kid with separation anxiety. "Edward wants to come with Spike- person!" she whined.  
  
"Sorry, but you'll have to stay here. I don't want you getting hurt." Ed looked up at the bounty hunter with big watery eyes.  
  
"But Edward doesn't want to be alone! Waaahhh!!" Spike covered his ears to save his precious eardrums from Ed's wailing.  
  
"Jeez, don't cry. I mean you can still play with Ein." Ed instantly went back to her usual happy go lucky attitude.  
  
"Okay Spikey dude! Ed stay behind and play with Ein! Ein like play with Ed!" Ein whimpered and ran away, knowing what was coming next.  
  
"Your sure you know what your doing?" Jet asked. Spike did not reply, but continued down the hallway to the hangar where the Swordfish II was located. "Yup, he knows what he's doing." Soon, after kicking the ship about a billion times or so, Spike was off to Calisto.  
  
Somewhere near Jupiter and it's many moons, Spike Spiegal was searching for any signs of activity. There did not appear to be any. Then Spike tried to scan underneath Calisto's icy surface, thinking that John's hideout might be underground but got no luck there either. "Why the fuck did I come out here if there was nothing?" he muttered. "Maybe Ed's data was wrong?" he thought to himself. No, that couldn't be. Ed had never been wrong in finding data on bounties. Maybe she hadn't gotten all the data on the guy. Spike was just about to head back to the bebop when the ship's radar began to beep. Spike looked at a screen in the ship as it zoomed in on what ever was down there.  
  
What Spike saw was almost obscene. On the planet's surface was a large wooden cross. Mounted on it was a rotting skeleton, the mouth clamped in a macabre grin. Spike almost threw up. He had seen grisly stuff in his line of work before, but not like this. Now he really wanted to get out of here. Yeah, he'd do just that. Go back to the bebop, tell them that he couldn't find the guy, and come back later. Spike began his flight back to the bebop, not wanting to look at the awful scene in front of him.  
  
Back onboard the bebop, Faye Valentine was trying to read a magazine but was having trouble concentrating due to the squeals of glee from Ed as she tossed Ein up and down like a ball, ignoring the little corgi's howls. "Doesn't she ever shut up?" Faye growled to herself.  
  
"Ein go up! Ein go down! Ein go up! Ein go down!" Ed sang as she tossed the poor corgi into the air over and over. Ein was not enjoying this much.  
  
Faye was struggling to avoid going over to Ed and giving her a few whacks to shut her up when Jet called from the kitchen, "Dinner!" Ed raced off to the kitchen, forgetting about Ein who came crashing to the floor. The dazed dog shook his head and trotted to the kitchen. Faye got up to eat when there was a knock from the hangar door.  
  
"Spike's back already? I thought it would take him longer than this!" Faye opened the door to see a person who was definitely not Spike. The man in the doorway wore an old shroud of white and he had curly blond hair. "Who the heck are y-" Faye began, but before she could finish the man raised his arm and brought a large crowbar down on Faye's head. She fell to the ground, blood flowing from her wound.  
  
"Faye where are you? It's dinner time!" Jet said, rounding a corner. He froze, seeing the sight before him. Faye was slumped on the ground, unconscious. A strange man was standing over her. The man took one look at Jet and rushed at him. Jet reached for his gun but the man was faster than he anticipated. Jet screamed as the crowbar connected with his face. Their was a spray of blood as some of Jet Black's teeth flew out of his mouth. He collapsed. The man grinned. All he had to do now was get the one he was sent for.  
  
"Dinner is good! Ed happy!" Ed giggled to herself as she ate. She looked down at Ein who was eating a bowl of dog food. Ed turned back to her dinner when she heard a gunshot. She looked down just in time to see Ein slump to the ground, a bullet hole in his side. "Ein no!" Ed screamed, kneeling next to the welsh corgi. Ein whimpered and struggled to get up. Ed helped him to his feet, only to have him collapse again. As Ed struggled to save her friend's life, the man took out a small tranquilizer gun and fired a tranquilizer dart into Ed's arm. She cried out and then fell to the ground.  
  
"Easy picking." The man whispered to himself. He picked Ed up and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He walked back to the hangar of the bebop and climbed into his ship, Ed in tow. "Mission accomplished. Reverend John will be pleased." He said. He flew off, leaving the bebop behind.  
  
This is only chapter one. Chapter two will come when I find the time. Again, please r&r. Flame me if you want. Bye! 


	2. chapter two

Authors note: This is a revised version of my story. The character "Matthew Burke" was already used in "Salem's Lot", so I'm changing his last name to avoid getting accused of stealing. Thank you. -Randall Flagg2  
  
"Fucking Tomato computer." Spike cursed as he docked the swordfish II in the bebop's hangar. He had wasted an hour of his precious time searching for their bounty and all he had come across was an empty planet with a crucified somebody on it. Still, one thing puzzled him. If there was no living creature on Calisto, how had that cross stayed in place? Surely the lack of gravity would have carried it off into space. So how could it stay there? "Oh screw it." Spike thought. "I need to concentrate on the matter at hand, which is filling my stomach." Spike climbed out of his ship and gave it a good kick, just for good luck. He pushed open the door. "Jet is dinner re-"  
  
Spike's words trailed off as he surveyed the bebop's entry way. Lying on the ground at his feet was Faye Valentine. She was face down, the top of her head partially split open. Blood soaked the ground at his feet and where she lay. "Whoa, what the fuck happened to her?" he thought. "Jet? Ed? Anybody here?" Spike called. His words echoed into nothingness. "Jet c'mon, whatever is going on here isn't funny!" Spike picked Faye up to carry her to the kitchen. Just as he began to walk forward his eyes caught sight of Jet. Spike set Faye down and ran to his friend. He turned the large man over and gasped. Blood was flowing out of Jet's mouth, small tooth fragments mixed in like some sort of crude chunky spaghetti sauce. "Whoever did a number on them must have really meant business." Spike ran to the kitchen to the bathroom to get some gauze wrappings when a whimper from the kitchen interrupted him. Spike looked into the kitchen to see Ein on his side, a bullet hole in the right of his rib cage. Spike went to the bathroom and got some long tweezers as well as bandage wrappings. He went to Ein and examined the wound. The bullet hadn't gone in too far, but if it wasn't removed the dog could bleed to death. Spike carefully picked up the tweezers and slowly tried to remove the bullet.  
  
"WOOF!!" Ein instantly sprang to life when the tweezers entered his body. Ein saw Spike and tried to wag his stumpy tail but could not. "Yeah, I'm here for you. Just hold still mutt. This won't take long." As if he understood, Ein lay back down and allowed Spike to remove the bullet from his rib cage. Spike picked up the welsh corgi and set him down on the table. He wrapped a bit of gauze around the dog's waist. "That should take care of you for awhile." Spike said. Behind him, Faye stirred.  
  
"Unh. what happened?" she mumbled. Faye clutched her head. She couldn't remember what had happened. First she had answered the doorway, then she had seen a man dressed in an outrageously dated piece of clothing which had looked more like a robe than a cloth, and then. she couldn't remember what had happened after that. "I wonder where everybody else is." Faye thought. As she brought her hand off of her head she saw the blood that was decorating it. Faye screamed.  
  
"Faye! I thought you were dead!" Spike said from behind her.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?! Why am I bleeding?!!" Faye screamed. She looked to her side and saw Jet. Faye dissolved into sobs.  
  
"She's crying? Now I know something bad happened." Spike muttered to himself. He knelt down and grabbed Faye to calm her. It took awhile but Faye eventually stopped crying and allowed Spike to wrap gauze around her head. Jet awoke a bit later, but he couldn't talk because his mouth felt as though somebody had ignited dynamite in his mouth. Spike helped Jet to the couch and set him down with an ice pack. Spike turned to Faye.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I don't know. I heard a knock from the hangar door and I went to answer it thinking it was you. When I opened it I saw a guy with blond hair in a white robe. Then I felt something heavy hit me in the head and I guess I passed out." That confirmed Spike's suspicions. Somebody had attacked the bebop while he was gone. But who had done it? "You say he wore a white robe?" he asked.  
  
"I think so." Faye replied.  
  
"Didn't that guy in the picture Ed showed us on her computer wear something similar?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the robe my attacker wore was pretty similar to John's clothes." Spike didn't stick around for a moment. He went to Ed's room and fiddled with her computer until he found the data on John Mathers. The picture depicted a man with blue eyes and short brown hair. It was only from the shoulders up. Spike searched for a full photograph of the man and found one. As luck would have it the man wore a robe of white which seemed to be from biblical times. Spike carried Ed's tomato to Faye and showed her the picture.  
  
"Yeah, that's the same robe the guy who knocked me out wore."  
  
"So that means whoever the guy was, he was a member of Mather's cult." Spike said. "In the meantime where's Ed?" An earsplitting howl arose from the kitchen. Faye got up and went into the kitchen to see Ein howling as if she had kicked him. Alright, kicked him harder than she normally did.  
  
"What is it? Do you know where Ed went?" Faye asked. Ein howled again. Faye had a gut feeling that something worse had happened to the child hacker. "Ed? Are you anywhere?" she called out. No answer. "Ed?! Are you hiding from us?! This isn't a game you know!" Still no reply. Faye decided that she might have to scare Ed out. "Come out now Ed! If you don't I'll break your computer!"  
  
"She's gone Faye." Jet mumbled from the couch.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"He took her Faye. After he knocked me down I saw him shoot Ein and Ed. I think he got her with a tranquilizer gun or something. After she fell down he picked her up and carried her off. Then I lost consciousness." Jet said, grimly. Faye gasped. Ein howled again. Faye was guessing that Ein must've known that in the first place, the corgi sounded so agonized.  
  
"So he took Ed? But what would he want with her? She's just a kid." Then he remembered that John Mathers was wanted for kidnapping of men, women and children. The words "and children" seemed to flash in his mind like Las Vegas neon. "Great. Now we have to find her." Spike growled. "But where will we find them? They weren't on Calisto which is where the data said they were located, so where could they be?!"  
  
Somewhere on Calisto a man by the name of Matthew Straker was walking down a hallway with a certain red headed teenager slumped over his back. At the end of this hallway was a large door. He stopped in front of it. "Password please." a computer voice said.  
  
"Worship." was Straker's reply.  
  
"Access granted." The door swung open to reveal a sprawling field with trees and plants all around. "Such a beautiful place." he murmured. "Such beauty for god's grace during such wicked times." To the sides in this room of nature were doors. Straker turned towards a gold painted door and knocked on it.  
  
"Enter." said a voice from within. Straker went into the room which was painted entirely white. Sitting at a white desk in a swivel chair was a tall man with short brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Straker set Ed down and took a seat in an old wooden chair. "I can assume that she is still alive?" the man said.  
  
"Yes Reverend John. I can assure you that she is only unconscious." Straker replied.  
  
"Good. She has much repenting to do. Much repenting indeed." Mathers said. "You were careful to take care of the rest of those dogs onboard weren't you?"  
  
"Yes. In the end the hellbound are cut down by the righteous. One of them was missing though."  
  
Mathers' eyebrow went up a notch. "Which one?"  
  
"The one with the green hair. I do believe his name was Spike Spiegal. Should we worry about him?"  
  
"No, I don't think we should. We shouldn't worry about any of them. Those who do not believe in the lord shall not find us." Mathers turned to the still unconscious Ed. "In the meantime, take her to one of the dorms. Tommorrow we shall help this sinning girl atone for all the iniquity she has sewn." Straker scooped Ed up and walked out of Mathers' office. Tommorrow would be a big day for her. Yes indeed. It would be a big day.  
  
Authors note: If you are wondering, I am NOT a religious person and neither is any of my family. Religion however has always been fascinating to me, so I put some darker portions of it in here. Part three still to come. Thanks for the review. Anymore? -Randall Flagg2 


	3. chapter three

Sorry for the late update but I've been mourning the loss of the summer. (Charges fire into hands) SUMMER CANNOT BE OVER!! NOOOOO!!! Anyway, enjoy part three. -Randall Flagg2  
  
In a dark dorm room, Ed slowly opened her eyes. She didn't have much recollection of what had happened. First she had been eating dinner, than she had seen Ein get shot and then all was darkness. "What happened to Ed?" she muttered. Where was she? It certainly was not the bebop. The floor was cold and stony, and there were no windows to see out of. She tried to rise but sank back down as her energy left her. She had never felt so tired before. Her arms and legs felt like sacks of cement and she felt as though a vampire had sucked out all but the last drop of blood in her. She lay back down and winced as her arm tingled painfully. Ed sat up and examined her arm. In the side of it was a small puncture mark. "Somebody has hurt Edward" she murmured to herself. She yawned and let herself freefall backwards to take a nap. Maybe things would be alright in the morning.  
  
CRASH!! "OW!!! What the heck?!" Ed recoiled as she crashed onto something and her it yelp. She backed away and tried to look at whatever she had hit but the darkness of the room made it difficult to see. "Who's there?" the voice said again. Ed inched forward towards the indecipherable mass in front of her. She couldn't tell who or what it was exactly but she could tell that it belonged to a human, probably a boy from the voice.  
  
"Edward is sorry. Ed did not see you." she said.  
  
"Ed's your name?" the boy said.  
  
"Yes. What is boy- person's name?"  
  
"My name is Ray. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Where are Ed and Ray Ray? Ed is scared of this room!" Ed whined.  
  
"Shh!!" Ray hissed. "Keep your voice down. If somebody here's us we'll really get it!"  
  
"Who could get us?" Ed asked.  
  
Ray sighed. "You were unconscious when they brought you in here so I'll tell you everything." Ed leaned forward, now interested in what Ray had to tell her. "The guy who dropped you off in here was a man named Matthew Straker. I was the only one awake when he came. Everybody else in this dorm was already asleep. He just dumped you on the ground and muttered something about you. I couldn't here what it was."  
  
"Why is Ed here? Where is Matt man?" Ed asked. Ray's face, still hidden in the dim light pervading the room grew grave.  
  
"I don't think you want to know that Ed. If I told you now you might try to escape."  
  
"If Ray person likes Ed why does he want to keep Ed captive?" Ed whimpered, her lip quivering. Ray couldn't see Ed's face but he could tell that she was beginning to cry.  
  
"I didn't mean it that way. I meant that if you try to leave you could die."  
  
"Ed could die?!" Ed half screamed.  
  
"I've said too much. Just forget about what I said okay? I'll explain everything to you tomorrow. Just please be careful when you meet the boss tomorrow. If you step out of line with him." Ray's words trailed off. He lay back down.  
  
"What could happen?" Ed asked. She got no reply. Ray was already asleep. Realizing that she would not get anything else out of Ray, Ed yawned and let herself fall backwards into a deep sleep. Within moments she was snoring on the ground.  
  
Next morning.  
  
Ed yawned and stretched in the cell she had been deposited into. Her back ached. "Edward would give much for a futon." she murmured. Ed looked around the cell and noticed that there were many other people in the room besides Ray. Some were men, some were women. A few teenagers were sprawled out on the floor, while younger children, some no older than 4, were just starting to awaken. Ed felt comforted knowing that other people were here. Just as she was about to try to interact with one of them the door to the cell banged open. Everybody, even the small children, turned towards the door. In the doorway stood a muscular man with curly blond hair and beady black eyes which to Ed looked a lot like Ein's eyes. Behind him stood two other men. One was short with long flowing black hair who had a pimply face. The other was of medium height with long lanky arms and spiky brown hair. All of them wore old-fashioned white robes. Ed didn't know who these people were but she did know that for some reason she was afraid of them. The middle one inspired the most fear in her for some reason. Why? She didn't know. All Ed knew was that these guys spelled trouble.  
  
"I trust that you are all ready to repent?" the blonde man said. Everybody except for Ed nodded their heads vigorously. The man smiled. "Good. Follow us." Everyone fell into a straight line like military soldiers marching off to battle and was led out of the dorm. Ed followed silently.  
  
"Psst! Hey Ed!" said a familiar voice. Ed turned to face a handsome boy with short blonde hair and glasses. The boy kind of looked like that Tomato boy she played with while on earth (If you don't know who Tomato is, read the Cowboy Bebop books.). "It's me, Ray!" the boy said.  
  
"Hi Ray Ray!" Ed exclaimed. Before she could say anything else the blonde man at the front whipped around as if a bee had stung him. The look on his face was that of an anger that was too great for words.  
  
"Who dared to speak before they were commanded to?" the man growled, his voice so low the growl was animalistic. Nobody spoke. This seemed to be the right response. The man turned around and began to walk again. Ed remained silent for the remainder of the trip. They passed through the nature room which served as the center of the entire area, wherever the area was. Ed was curious about how people could have an entire field in a building. As they marched onwards towards wherever they were going, one part of the field caught Ed's attention. In the center of the field was a patch of land that did not have any grass. In the middle of this land patch was a good- sized square shaped hole. To the sides of this hole were patches of dark brownish red. Ed had a feeling of what those colored patches were, but she didn't want to believe it. She and the others were led into an elevator which was in one of the side walls. After a long flight down they exited into what appeared to be a mine. The blonde man and his followers exited, leading their group to a clearing where a man with short brown hair and eyes which shined like Fourth of July sparklers stood. He too wore a robe of white. Many more groups of people were gathered around him. The three men stepped forward and bowed to the man. Ed gasped when she saw the man. It was the same person she had found on her computer.  
  
"You have brought the iniquitous with you?" he asked.  
  
"Yes Reverend John. All of them are with me." the blonde man replied.  
  
"Iniquitous? What do you me-" Ed didn't finish her sentence as the short man delivered a hook to her face and sent the child hacker flying to the ground.  
  
"You are to speak when we tell you too." he said as Ed picked herself up off the floor.  
  
"Enough Mark. Save it for later." John half hissed. Mark obediently stepped back.  
  
"Now then," John began. "I have brought you here for the usual reason. As you know, Calisto is highly packed with minerals which will be useful to me in the future. Due to the fact you have all committed so many sins in your life, I have brought you here to atone for the iniquity you have sewn by having you work in these mines. Before you begin your work I must introduce to you a new sinning girl. Luke, bring her up." The man with spiky hair known as Luke grabbed Ed by the back of her neck and brought her up to the front of the group. Luke grinned macabrely at Ed as he squeezed the back of her neck over and over like a stress ball.  
  
"This girl has no name, but she refers to herself as Edward. We do not know her last name. However she has committed horrible sins and blasphemy so we brought her here to atone for what she has done." John continued. Everybody looked uneasy. "Now then, as always you shall be grouped together to dig in these mines. Those who disobey shall be punished." At the mentioning of punishment the people almost fainted. One of them cried out. John's followers grinned at the word. Ed saw something in their eyes when they smiled like that. Something that made her want to scream. Those smiles were not normal. She could feel something in them. Something that was screaming and laughing and gibbering crazily inside of them. Something that may be insanity. Perhaps worse. John Mathers ordered his men to pass out tools for them to use. Everybody was given shovels and pickaxes to work with. Then they were assigned into small groups of two. The small kids were paired with adults or teenagers. Ed was paired with the boy she had spoken too earlier. The men in white robes patrolled the area, making sure that nobody stopped working unless they were absolutely drained. Soon, Ed was chipping away at a rock wall along with Ray and the other people.  
  
"Ray Ray?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Who were those people?"  
  
"The guy with brown hair who told us about the rules and stuff was John Mathers. He regulates the place with his other men. The guy with the blonde hair was Matthew Straker, the second in command. The short one was Luke Rawson and the last guy was Mark Calhoun. They run this whole place." he replied.  
  
"Ray Ray said last night that he would tell Ed everything that he wouldn't say last night today. So what is happening in this swookey place?" Ray resisted the urge to giggle at the way Ed talked.  
  
"Well, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to freak out." Ray said.  
  
"Don't worry. Edward promises not to scream." she said.  
  
"Alright. The thing is we're all captives in this place as I said before. But you don't know how we got here."  
  
"How?" Ed asked.  
  
"That guy, John Mathers constructed a special satellite which allows him to see inside of a person's home. It doesn't have to be a certain kind. His satellites can see inside of any home it wants. When it gets into the victim's home, it hacks into their computer by sending out an electromagnetic pulse into the system which bugs it into giving him all the files and documents on that person's life as well as any information on their family members. Once he gets the information he sends his agents to kidnap the victim and his or her family. Then he brings them here and forces them to work as slaves to "atone" for things which he thinks sinful. We have to obey him otherwise."  
  
"Otherwise what Ray Ray?" Ed asked. She had a feeling of what the answer was.  
  
"Death. If we disobey him too many times we are executed. He told us that by committing sin in a place of god that the only way we can enter heaven is by making us "just like Christ" as he puts it." Ray said grimly. Ed was aghast. Religion had never played a big role in her life, in fact it might have been non-existent, but she had always thought that it condoned love and peace. All that this man promoted was cruelty and death to those he deemed unworthy in the eyes of god. Ed knew why Ray didn't tell her last night. If she had heard it at night, she would never sleep. And if she was too tired to work, she would be killed. Noticing one of the men was starting to glare at her for not working she went back to chipping away at one of the walls.  
  
"Ray Ray? Why does John person want us to dig?" she asked.  
  
"He wants us to dig into Calisto's core so he can harvest the water in the center. After the gate incident years ago, Calisto shifted off orbit and into the suns path for reasons unknown. The heat melted all the ice and somehow the water got into Calisto's core. When it went back into it's normal orbit he set up base here below the surface and built a prison here. That's when he constructed his satellite and began to kidnap people. Since then things have been hell for us. He wants us to get to the core so he can harvest the water for some reason. I don't know why but I doubt it's for any good." Ray said. Ed grimaced.  
  
"Keep working sinner!!" Matthew Straker bellowed from behind. Ed jumped and quickly began to dig again.  
  
In his office, John Mathers sat in front of a TV screen watching the iniquitous work while the righteous watched over them. All this pleased him greatly. It would take only another day before they got into Calisto's core. Once they got in there, he could make the whole universe repent for their sins. Oh yes, it would be a sight to remember when the wicked would be consumed in holy fire at his hands and the righteous took their place as rulers of the universe. After all, the Holy Scriptures did say that the sinners would be cut down in the end. That end would come soon. The only thing he worried about was the new girl he had captured. He knew about the bebop and their ways, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they came after him. And that girl was a famous hacker who could get into any system she wanted. Could she possibly get into his satellite? No. There was no way she could. She may have been a professional hacker but he also knew a great deal about code crunching himself. He too had hacked into government files and satellites among other things and had messed with them to punish them for their sins. Ed however only did it for fun and entertainment and Mathers knew that unless something is done in god's name that it was devil's work. Because she had fooled with things for self pleasure he had taken her and was going to get her to repent for what she had done. She would break eventually, he knew it. Everybody had a breaking point and even a girl as carefree and happy as herself had a limit. He would find that limit. "My dear Edward." he muttered. "Soon you will writhe in the darkness with the rest of them where you belong. First you, then your friends, then the universe and I will reign over with the righteous." Mathers turned around and began to read the book of Revelation. 


	4. chapter four

Part four is ready to go! Read and review please. Enjoy. -Randall Flagg2  
  
Ed and everybody else in the mind continued to dig in the mines for quite some time. She paused to wipe her forehead. "Phew. Edward is tired." she said to herself. "Sure hope we get a break soon." As if to answer her request, a Matthew Straker's voice called out "Lunch break! Everybody return their tools and take a seat in the cafeteria!" At the mentioning of food, Ed dashed down the hallway and dropped her pick axe at the entrance where the others were depositing their work tools. She followed the other people into a large cafeteria where a large table that took up the entire middle of the room. At the end of the table sat John Mathers. Ed looked at the table's contents and was disappointed to see that only thing on it were loaves of bread. At each of the seats at the table was a small glass of whine. "Edward could go for a cheeseburger right now." she said. That was the wrong thing to say as Luke Rawon's fist came flying towards her and sent her sprawling onto the ground.  
  
"Stupid hellbound mocker! You will take in the blood and body of your savior whether you want to or not!!" he growled. Ed whimpered and rubbed her face where a bruise was starting to form. Rawson grabbed her up with his lanky arm and forced her to her feet. "Take a seat. It doesn't matter where." Ed promptly sat down next to Ray. Satisfied, Rawson walked off and sat down near the end of the table where Straker and Mark were seated. Ed nudged the boy.  
  
"Why are we getting fed so little Ray Ray?"  
  
"This is all that we ever eat. Mathers only allows us to eat this stuff because the apostles ate it at the last supper. The bread was said to represent the savior's body, and the wine was to represent his blood. He said that by taking his blood and body into yourself, you take salvation into you. He never lets us eat any other food. I haven't had a hotdog in a year." he explained. Ed figured it was better than nothing. Besides, she was starving at the moment. She noticed everybody else had bowed their heads in silent prayer. Not wanting to get punched again, Ed bowed her head.  
  
John whispered "Dear Lord, we thank thee for bestowing on us your love and mercy. We have shown you favor and you provide food and shelter for us. We pray that these people who are outlanders and sinners in your eyes may see the light as we have before them." When he said these lines, everybody shivered as if a draft had swept through the room. "May these ones who were blinded be educated in your ways so that they shall not be sent into the darkness where the evil one lurks. We end in saying our thanks to you, oh Lord everlasting. Amen." John ceased. Everybody began to eat the bread. Ed took two pieces and bit into them. They were warm and soft, just the way bread should be. It could have been better with butter or jam, but she had a feeling that asking for that could result in another blow. She ate silently, glancing around the room. Nobody was speaking. John and his followers were watching everybody else the way a hawk watches it's prey. She lifted the small glass that held the purple-pink whine and tasted it. It was sweet, like fruit juice. She happily gulped it down.  
  
"Ed get seconds?" she asked. Mark Calhoun filled her glass again. Ed drank it greedily. After a few more slices of bread, she laid back in her chair. "Ed is stuffed." she said, letting out a burp. John and his cohorts stood up.  
  
"Back to work! Lets go! Scoot!" Everybody stood up and began to walk back to the mine. Ed wished that she could wait for her stomach to settle, but arguing might not be a good idea. In the mines, Ed overheard John speaking with Matthew Straker.  
  
"Your sure it will only take another day?"  
  
"Yes I'm sure. Once we are able to harvest the water from the planet's core, we will be able to rule the new Jerusalem." Mathers whispered. "We shall worship the holy one day and night and the light of god shall be our guide."  
  
"Yes. And the dogs, murderers, thieves, prostitutes, witches and wizards shall be outside where they belong." Straker said with a grin. Ed didn't like the sound of that.  
  
"Just one more day and we shall have what we need." The two of them turned and walked off to patrol the area. Ed continued working until she felt the need to relieve her system. Nervously, she tapped Mathers on the shoulder.  
  
"What?" The response was emotionless and calm.  
  
"Nature is calling Edward." she said.  
  
"Bathroom's down that way." he said, pointing towards a rusty door. Ed went in and relieved herself. "Edward wonders how Spike person and Jet person are." she said to nobody. "Ed hopes bebop is okay." She got off the toilet and stepped out of the stall to see Ray writing on one of the walls. "Hi Ray Ray!" she beamed.  
  
"Hey Ed. I didn't know you were here." he said.  
  
"What is Ray Ray doing?"  
  
"Just expressing my opinions about Mathers on the wall here." he said. Ed looked at what Ray had been writing on the walls and fell over giggling. All sorts on insults had been written on the wall about John Mathers and his men. There were also some crude caricatures of them as well. Underneath a picture of John himself, were the words "false prophet". Ed looked at the picture again and giggled even harder when she saw John had been given devil's horns, a goatee and a pitchfork. Ray laughed with her. After awhile they settled down.  
  
"Let's get back to work. They'll get mad if we don't hurry up." Ray said through his laughter. They went out the door and resumed digging.  
  
Back on the bebop, Spike, Faye and Jet were searching on Ed's computer for information. There had been a lot more information on Mathers' cult than they had expected. Originally they had simply been missionaries who had spread god's word, protesting about many things that people normally enjoyed. Then they had begun to get violent and began hacking into people's homes and kidnapping them for their own sick purposes. Again the data said that they were located on Calisto, but Spike hadn't seen anything except the cross with somebody mounted on it. "This is pointless. We've been searching for an hour and we haven't found anything on them." Faye growled.  
  
"Calm down. We'll find something sooner or later." Spike sighed. Then an idea came to him. Maybe if he tried searching for Mathers' home planet he could find some relations to the guy. If he could, maybe they would have some data on him and his men. Spike searched the net for information regarding people John had been related to. Three people came up. One of them, the guys mother, was dead. The first one was John's father, Reginald Mathers. The other living one was a friend of Johns. A woman named Sonya Rockwell. Both were located on Ganymede. Spike got up.  
  
"I'm going out to look for them. See you guys later." he began to walk to the hangar when Jet stopped him.  
  
"Your not going alone this time Spike. I really want to be in on this one."  
  
"Same here lunkhead." Faye chimed in. "You won't get anywhere without us."  
  
"Alright, you guys can come with me but-" Before Spike could finish, he felt something tug on his pant-leg. He looked down to see Ein pulling gently on him. "You want to come too Ein? You want to pay back those guys for what they did?" Ein barked as if to say "Hell yeah!". Spike turned around and started for the control room instead. Soon the bebop was on its way to Ganymede.  
  
That night.  
  
Ed couldn't sleep, despite how tired she was from all that digging. After they had been told that the work day was finished, they had been led back to the dormitories for the night. On the way back, Ed had seen Mathers stop Ray, saying he wanted to talk to him. That had been over three hours ago and Ray hadn't come back. "Where is Ray Ray?" Ed thought to herself. She was just about to fall asleep when the door banged open. Before Ed could react, she was dragged out of the room roughly. Much to her surprise, nobody woke up. She was forced into the nature room and led towards another door. She was thrust into a white room where John Mathers sat a desk.  
  
"You have brought her Matthew?"  
  
"Yes. She shall be punished for her mockery immediately." Straker took a key out of his pocket and opened a small cabinet in the wall. Ed couldn't see what it was, but she had a feeling it wasn't anything good.  
  
"What has Ed done?" she asked.  
  
"We have security cameras everywhere in this place. We saw the recording of you laughing about the pictures of me in the bathroom. Since you have taken part in another's sin, you will be punished as was your friend. However, since you did not start it like he did, you will not be punished as severly." Before Ed could say anything, Straker shoved her to the ground. As she fell, Straker grabbed the back of her pants, bringing Ed's biker slacks and panties down to her ankles. When she hit the ground, Straker shoved up the back of her tee shirt. Ed was just about to attempt to get up when something whistled through the air and cracked against her back and her rump. Ed shrieked. She turned around to see Straker holding a bullwhip. A look of insane pleasure had covered the man's face. She struggled to get away, but he snapped it again and incredible pain shot up from her rear to the middle of her back. Tears streamed down the hackers face as the whip descended on her again and again, each time making a loud crack, like a rifle. Through a haze of agony, Ed heard John mutter "He who spares the rod, hate their children, but a good father is careful to discipline him." The whipping seemed to go on forever. After what may have been five minutes, Straker stopped. Ed lay there wailing on the ground.  
  
"Get up. I will take you back to your room." he hissed. Ed yanked her underwear and pants up and shakily got to her feet. Straker opened the door and led her out. When Ed stepped into the clearing, she saw something she had failed to notice. In the center of the field where the clearing with the hole was, a large wooden cross had been mounted. Nailed to it was the body of none other than her friend Ray. He was completely naked, his arms nailed to the vertical piece of wood with nails that were the size of railroad spikes. His face was a look of crazed terror, his mouth open in a scream. Blood covered the ground beneath him. Some of it was still dripping from his wrists. Ed was too frightened to scream.  
  
"You didn't hear him because your room door is soundproof. Boy oh boy, did he holler. He died of shock before all the blood ran out of him. Consider yourself lucky. Since he started the sin in the first place, we decided to make him just like Christ." Straker chuckled. Ed wrenched out of his grasp and threw up. Straker grabbed her and led her back to the dorm. He tossed her in like a bag of trash, then locked the door and left.  
  
Ed was horrified. In her life on the bebop, she had seen violence before, but it had been nothing like this. Nobody deserved to die that way. "Ray Ray." Ed muttered. Her control broke and she began to sob. She really wanted to get out of this place. "Spike person, Ein, Faye Faye, Jet person, where are you? Edward needs you." she wept. Ed wept for a long time. She couldn't go to sleep out of fear of the dreams she would have. Ed backed against the wall. "Edward feels so small. Ed is frightened of this place." Ed curled up into the fetal position and began sucking her thumb. She couldn't help it, she was so frightened. Despite her doubts Ed fell asleep, her thumb still corked in her mouth.  
  
Dark eh? Read and review please. 


	5. chapter five

Despite the fact that school has started (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) again, I've found the time to write. Enjoy part five. This one's mainly centered on Spike and crew instead of Ed, but she'll come in to play later. Enjoy. -Randall Flagg2  
  
The door swung open and Spike stepped out onto the surface of Ganymede. Jet, Ein and Faye followed closely behind. After finding out information on John Mathers' relations, they had decided to try for the woman named Sonya Rockwell first. Although Spike didn't normally didn't enjoy old detective films, he decided to try the Ganymede grille first. "Jet, you check the alleys with Ein and see if there's anybody who might have some urban stuff on him. Faye, you check around the city." Spike ordered.  
  
"Since when are you the leader?" Jet asked.  
  
"Since now. Now split up." Spike said, clapping his hands together for emphasis. They did just that.  
  
~*Spike's point of view*~  
  
I've seen cheerier expressions on Vicious' face! Everybody's pretty bitter (not that that isn't like me), and nobody wants to make conversation. I sit down with a beer and decide to ask the owner if he knows Sonya Rockwell. He gets surely and asks me if I'm related to Mathers. At the mentioning of his name, everybody rises up and corners me. Guess it's time to fight. Soon enough, everybody is sprawled out on the floor and I'm trying to catch my breath. I ask the owner again if he know who Sonya Rockwell is. He says that he doesn't know, but that somebody else does. Some guy in one of the more slummy sections of Ganymede named Craig Niles. Satisfied, I leave to find the crew and the Niles guy. I only hope he's willing to talk.  
  
~*Ein's point of view*~  
  
Jet's asking an alley guy if he knows that Sonya girl we're looking for. The guy says he doesn't know, but if he wants to know that badly he should talk to Craig Niles, whoever he is. Sheesh, they find so much information on Ed's computer and yet they still can't find anybody! Sometimes I wonder why I stay with them. Just as we start leaving the alley, my nose goes crazy with a weird smell. I turn around to see the alley man holding a piece of cloth. He tells Jet that it was part of a sweater Craig before Mathers went bad. He let's me smell it and my senses go crazy. I've smelt that scent before we went into the alleyway. I tug on my leash to let Jet know that I can find the scent. He gets what I'm saying and lets me lead the way. I wonder how the others are doing.  
  
~*Faye's point of view*~  
  
Damn it! I haven't found anything on Sonya or Mathers at all! If this keeps up, I'm going back to the bebop. Maybe I'll ask that woman over there. She tells me she doesn't know where Sonya is, but that she has heard of someone who knows her. A guy named Craig Niles who lives at the far south side of town according to her. Then I see Jet and Ein walk past me. The mutt seems to be in a real hurry. Maybe they know about Niles as well. I'll go get Spike.  
  
~*Authors point of view*~  
  
"You say they were heading south?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yeah, Ein seemed to be in a big rush. Maybe we should follow them." Faye and Spike headed south, passing by shops and apartments among other things until they came to a jewelry shop. They went in to find Jet speaking with a man in his mid thirties who had short black hair and a thin, gaunt face that almost seemed to be deprived of all emotion. Spike interrupted them.  
  
"Your Craig Niles?"  
  
"Yeah. I know why you're here. You want to know about my ex-friend John Mathers." he said in a creaky voice that to Spike sounded as well melodious as a rusty door hinge. "Your friend Jet has already told me about you and what you do for a living. I always feared that he might get a bounty on his head one of these days."  
  
"We want to know if you know anything about him." Jet said.  
  
"I know quite a bit about him. When we were boys, we were friends. We had a lot of things in common with one another. The difference was that he was a tad more religious than I was and that kind of annoyed me. Religion was never something big in my life, so I found it pretty boring. Whenever we did something, he would always find a way to relate it to the bible or something that had to do with Christ or God or whoever was in the Holy Scriptures. As we got older, religion started dominating more and more of his life. He started doing strange things in "the name of God" as he put it. He started getting more violent towards peope. He would yell at people for doing just about anything. He would chastise teachers in front of the class for lessons he found blasphemous. He even beat up a few guys for smoking pot in the locker room, claiming that they were "Inhaling devil's fire and needed to be rebuked." Then one day, I asked him what had happened to cause religion to take over his life as it had. He just looked at me for a few moments, then he started hitting me with a crowbar that was in a nearby box. He called me all sorts of religious terms that has to do with demon worshipers, unbelievers, and other mumbo jumbo. Our friendship ended that day. We went our separate ways and never spoke to each other again. Before he disappeared, he started getting into computer hacking again."  
  
"Again?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yes. Before our relation turned sour, we would sometimes hack into websites and spread a virus or two. We never did anything serious though, and we only got caught once. I was good on my own, but he was a complete wizard at the thing. Some people say that now his talents rival somebody named Radical Edward." Spike didn't like that. If somebody could rival Ed's hacking skills, they might have problems finding them. Niles made an end to his tale. "That's all I know about him, besides the fact he's a cult leader now. Anything else?"  
  
"Yeah, do you know about a woman named Sonya Rockwell?"  
  
"I do. She lives in the building opposite me. She used to have a relationship with him and she knows a hell of a lot more about him then me. See you." he said. The bebop crew left the store. They had to pry Ein's paws off of his ears first, since Niles' voice had taken it's toll on the welsh corgi's sensitive hearing. Soon they were in the apartment and at the check-in desk.  
  
"Do you have a Sonya Rockwell in here? We're friends of hers." Faye said, lying through her teeth. She doubted this would work. Much to her surprise, it did. They were told that her room number was 1906 on the second highest floor. They went to the elevator but were stopped.  
  
"Sorry, but you'll have to leave the dog outside." the woman said, pointing to Ein. He was a bit disappointed to have to miss out on the action, but he went without a fuss to the outside of the hotel. Spike, Jet and Faye took the elevator up to the eleventh floor and knocked on the door to room 1906. The woman who answered the door was a young woman who looked kind of like Faye, but her hair was curly and pink.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Are you Sonya Rockwell?" Spike asked.  
  
"Do I know you?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in curiosity.  
  
"You don't know us, but we know somebody who might be related to you. Have you heard of a guy named John Mathers?" Faye said. She recoiled as if struck upon hearing that name.  
  
"How do you know about him? Do you work for him?"  
  
"No. We work alone. He has a bounty on his head and we want to find out about him. All the data pointed towards you and his father Reginald. Do you have any information Miss. Rockwell?" Jet asked. Sonya said nothing for a moment.  
  
"Reginald died a day ago. I read it in the paper." she said in a voice that was almost a whisper. Then her voice cracked and she began to violently weep.  
  
"Did I say something?"  
  
"No." she sobbed. "It's not you. It's just that my memories of him are painful. Come in if you want." The three bounty hunters quietly entered Sonya Rockwell's apartment room and sat down on a couch. Faye went to her and offered her the red cloth she wore around her arms for her eyes.  
  
"Just calm down and tell us what you know. We didn't mean to upset you." Faye said as the woman wiped her eyes. After awhile, her cries became sniffles.  
  
"I- I'm sorry. I'm better now." Sonya said, and sat down opposite them. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Do you know his whereabouts? We're trying to find him."  
  
"Alright, I'll tell you. I've known where he's been hiding for fifteen years. Back then, things weren't as bad. We were young lovers who didn't have a care in the world. People had told me not to go near him because he was religious, but I thought that I could change him for the better. Our relationship went on for a year or two, and then he started to turn bad again. He started insisting I dress the way he saw fit, and I don't mean in slutty clothes that reveal my body. He always wanted me to wear a dress or a skirt, saying that I should wear what God had determined I should wear. Then we started getting into fights a lot. None of them turned physical though. One night, I was coming back with ice cream for us when I saw him beating up a kid near my car. I later learned that he did it because he said the kid was listening to obscene things and needed to be corrected. I broke up with him that night. Six months before the gate incident, he told me he was going to go set up a new society on Calisto. After the gate accident, he disappeared entirely. He must have gone to Calisto like he said he would."  
  
"But we already searched there and we didn't find anything!"  
  
"He probably set up some kind of defense below the planets surface. I know this because after he left he told me in a letter that he had gathered people just like him and that he was "going to educate people in the way of God". I just know that he's been killing people. I had a feeling he would eventually."  
  
"That sick fuck." Spike thought to himself.  
  
"That's all that I can tell you. Reginald might have more to tell you, but I told you he's dead."  
  
"That's all we need to know." Faye said, standing up. "I hope we didn't disturb you."  
  
"It's alright. You didn't disturb me at all." Sonya said. The bebop crew left her apartment, got Ein, and headed back to the ship. They didn't know if they could find this guy. He seemed to have broken every rule on leaving clues or evidence, but at least they had confirmed his whereabouts. All they could do for now was hope that Ed could find a way to hack into the bebop and lead them to John. In layman's terms, it didn't look good for the good guys.  
  
Back in the dorm, Ed woke up gently. She hadn't had any nightmares about last night, but she was still terrified of it all. She was still sucking her thumb which she suddenly bit down on with a hiss as a crimson bolt of agony blasted up her butt and back. She had almost forgotten about being whipped for looking at the drawings Ray had done in the bathroom. Ed took her thumb out of her mouth and saw she had broken the skin with the bite. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as the marks on her back. She lay back down on her stomach, being careful not to irritate the slashes on her back. "Edward want to see Ein and bebop again." she whimpered. Then the door banged open, jerking everybody else awake. Matthew Straker stood in the doorway, his shadow flitting around the room like a dancer performing on- stage. Ed shuddered.  
  
"Get up sinners. Today, the fire comes for you!" he grinned, his teeth almost like wolf's fangs.  
  
Chapter 6 to come soon. R&r please. Randall Flagg2 


	6. chapter six: eyes of a madman

Authors note/warning: This chapter is focused solely on John Mathers. I know this might seem pointless, but I felt it would be better to fill in some plot holes about him before the battle between him and the bebop. You will see what he has in store for the bebop here, but I'm not saying anything else. Keep the reviews up. -Randall Flagg2  
  
We satisfy our endless needs  
And justify our bloody deeds  
In the name of destiny  
And in the name of God  
-The last resort, The Eagles  
  
John Mathers watched the iniquitous work in the mines from his office TV. It gave him great pleasure in the way they suffered under his hand. He particularly enjoyed the way they reacted to the crucifixion of that boy Ray. Some of them had screamed, others had cried. The boy's mother had fainted upon the seeing her son made just like Christ. But didn't they deserve it? Didn't the apostles and the prophets before them say that they would get what was coming to them? And didn't the savior himself say "If he will not repent, treat him as you would a tax collecter?" Oh it did alright, and John Mathers was not one to blaspheme God's name. He'd be damned if he would act like they did. They were just like his parents were. Unbelievers who had no use for God or the way's he had set out for people to follow until the day they were taken to paradise. He hated people like that. "I was born from a mockers womb, and came into the world to give light to the people." John muttered. He closed his eyes and remembered his childhood on Ganymede.  
  
During the early years of his life, John Mathers had the uncanny ability to read things that were far ahead of his reading level. By the time he was two, he could read and interpret books from Authors such as Shakespeare, Lovecraft, and Poe. His parents, Reginald and Laura, were astounded by this. They had tried to diagnose their son's reading ability, but the doctors could not give a diagnosis. So his parents had just accepted the fact that their son had extraordinary reading talents. There really wasn't much else they could do. So they had bought him books of all sorts that he could read for amusement. Poetry, humor, mystery, many things that one would normally begin reading by the first grade at least became his to read and interpret. Before then, he had been as blind to God as they were. Worst of all, he had enjoyed it. Then one night in November when he was four, he had stumbled across an old bible in one of the shelves in his parent's room. Being interested in literature, he had decided to read it. At first it had been confusing since it was in a sort of foreign tongue that was like English, but the word "you" became "thee" or "ye". After a half-hour, he had been able to understand the difficult language. Thus, having conquered another literary obstacle, he began to read.  
  
What he read was shocking, revealing, and every so often terrifying, but he knew that this story was true and not made up like the books he had read before. He had been so fascinated by the whole concept of this thick book that he had read all of it by the end of the day. When he had finished reading it all, he had been changed from an unbelieving child into one of God's creatures. From then on, his life would be entirely devoted to God and nothing but God. That was what this book called the Bible commanded, so he had no choice. His punishment would be to die if he dared not act according to God's will. But what horrified him even more was the fact that the time he lived in was nothing like the biblical times that this book had been written in. Things were different now. People cared so little for religion nowadays. During biblical times, the unbelievers were a minority compared to those of true faith. Now the righteous had been cut down to only a relatively small portion of the entire universe. He didn't like that. He knew that now he was an angel among a universe of demons, and that they would lie in wait to devour him, just as the bible said it would. That fear slowly melted into anger. He was being raised by these people who called themselves human beings, who were in reality anything but. But he would hold steadfast to God and religion, just as the scriptures commanded. He had lived the life of a sinner, now he would reign with the righteous.  
  
As the years with his family progressed, he attempted to bring holiness and trinity to his household, but was unsuccessful. When his parents asked him to do something, he would do it without any hesitation. His parents were proud of him, but he knew it was just an act. They were really waiting to punce on him like a young lion and devour him alive when they had the chance. Whenever he did something wrong, he had begged them to beat him for what he had done. His parents had been disturbed by his request and refused to correct him as they should have, not being the types to hit a child. That had sickened him. The proverbs said that any parent who did not spare the rod, hated their child, but the rod brought wisdom and atonement for sin and saved them from death. More proof that they disliked him for his righteous behavior.  
  
The only friend he had when he was a boy was a boy named Craig Niles. Originally, he had intended to try to teach him the lord's path, but some demon in him had commanded him not to. So he had kept his righteous behavior inside of himself and had done his best to relate to him. Friendshio had blossomed between the two, and for awhile he had gone back to doing the devils work. But after a period of time he slowly reverted back to his ways. He had begun to avoid his Niles for his unbelief in God and the many blasphemes spoken against him by the boy. He had also began to get violent towards others. He would physically assault anybody who dared to do something against God and his name. Smoking, making out before marriage, drinking, anything that was devil's work was cast down by him. He had only been suspended once. He had to be caredul, as the wicked disliked the lord's work. And one night his friend had asked him why he had "let religion get to his head" and he had lost control. He had beaten his friend halfway to hell where he belonged with a crowbar to punish him for his mockery. He had no regrets over it. He would do it again if he could. From then on, he promised never to associate with a sinner again. He broke that vow again in his life when he met Sonya Rockwell.  
  
At first, the relationship had gone well. Sonya was nice, and had again caused a demon to put the lord's work aside for one who could not be saved. He had returned her feelings for a long time, until later. He objected highly to the clothes she wore because they were not the clothing a woman should wear. She should wear a dress, like a respectable woman of God did. She did not share the same view however. Then they had begun to argue a lot, and the relationship had gone downhill. One nigh when they were out on a date, a kid had come by him with music that mocked everything God stood for. Deciding the boy needed punishment, he had descended on him and beaten the kid into a state of unconsciousness. When he had finished, he saw Sonya looking at him raptly, her mouth an O of terror and disgust. Their relationship had ended that day. To keep himself occupied, he resorted to the thing he had done best as a kid: hacking. As a child, he had learned how to use a computer when he was seven. His friend Craig had known a lot of things about these machines and had taught him how to hack into internet sights and other computers. So when nobody was around, he would hack into home computers and government sites and had shut them down for blaspheming God. He had only been caught once, and his punishment wasn't that severe.  
  
All of that had been before the gate accident. Before he had set course for outer space, he had told Sonya he was going to Calisto to set up God's kingdom. After the gat incident, he had traveled around space in search of people he could have as disciples. All of the people he took with them were mostly homeless of depressed people who had nothing left in life except the ability to dream. He had educated them in God's teachings and they had converted to his views. They had traveled around the universe as missionaries from Calisto who preached the heavenly father's word and warned them of the traps that had been set for them. But then one day, John had realized that to get God's word across, he would have to exorcise the demons in people. So he had set up a base deep inside of Calisto and constructed a satellite which he could use to see into the homes of the hellbound and take them into his kingdom for teachings in God's ways. He knew that some would have to be killed to atone for their sins. He would not torture them like the Catholics did in medieval times. They knew nothing of God or his ways. The only way a person could be saved would be to die as Christ did. After all, he had shed his blood on the cross and brought salvation, so he would do the same to these people to save them. It was after all, the only way. He had taken people of all races and cultures to be taught the ways of salvation. He had taken that Ed girl because she had committed more iniquity than all the others. He wasn't worried though. There was no way her friends could save her now.  
  
Now all that was left was to cut down the wicked with fire, and he needed the water in the planet's core for that. By harvesting the water, he could create powerful hydrogen which he would use in bombs. He did have one job that the planets allowed him to do legally. He often built crosses and shipped them off to churches around the universe. By harvesting the water and getting the hydrogen from it, he could use it in the crosses' design to make a powerful nuclear bomb. Once he had shipped these to all the churches on all the planets, he would detonate them and consume the wicked in holy flame. He would be able to do it soon too. Just an hour or so more and he would be able to harvest the hydrogen and bring the evil times to an end. All this pleased him immensely. Soon the righteous would reign over the universe as they had been destined to for so long and he would have his revenge for trying to tempt him with their false ways. It would be soon. Very soon indeed.  
  
That's it for this part. R&r please. The big stuff starts next chapter. 


	7. chapter seven

This is it! The second to last chapter! Things are really gonna heat up for Ed and the bebop. It took me awhile since I had to learn how hydrogen was made first. Some of it may be a bit off, but it should be accurate. R&r please. -Randall Flagg2  
  
Ed worked silently in the mines with the other people, not bothering to look up from what she was doing. She had never felt so miserable in her whole life. Soon they would reach the center of Calisto where all the water was stored. Once that happened, Mathers and his his men would harvest the water for their own needs. But what would they do with the water anyway? For some reason she didn't want to know. She knew that water could be put to other purposes besides for nourishment and for baths and showers, and not all of them were good ones. "Edward had a bad feeling about this." she thought to herself. She wished so much for some companionship. Ever since they killed Ray, she had felt drained of her usual cheer and boundless energy. Now she just felt like an empty shell that had nothing left inside of it. "Oh Ray Ray, Edward misses you." she whispered. She began to weep for her friend. She cried with her head down, feeling the hot tears ooze out of her eyes. She tried to keep the sobs coming out of her mouth as quiet as possible, knowing that Straker and the other guards didn't tolerate slacking off. But she missed her friend almost as much as she missed the bebop. One might not call him a friend, they had been together for such a short while, but things can happen as quickly as they can take time. Ed returned to her digging, still crying as quietly as she could. Just as she began to dig again, Mark Calhoun's voice called from further down.  
  
"We're in! We're in! We've found the source!" Ed put down her pickaxe and went to where everybody else was going. When they arrived at their destination, Ed saw what Calhoun had been talking about. In one of the walls was a hole the size of a cave entrance. Inside of it was a gigantic pool of water which Ed guessed was at least ninety feet deep. The perimeter of the inside was about the perimeter of a large hotel. She probably wasn't supposed to speak, but Ed asked a question anyway.  
  
"Now what happens?" she asked.  
  
Instead of striking her, Mark replied "That you will find out tomorrow." John Mathers turned to address the people.  
  
"We have gotten what we desired, so you may all take the day off." he said. Everybody deposited their work tools and was led back to their dormitories. On the way back, Ed noticed that the cross her friend had been mounted on had been removed. The blood on the ground had dried to a dull brown stain. "Ed will miss you." she thought. When she arrived back in her room with the other people who occupied it, she laid back and fell asleep.  
  
During the night, John Mathers walked towards a large metal door at the northern end of the nature room. He took a small key from his pocket and unlocked the door. It opened to reveal a large hallway that led to another door at the end. Mathers stepped inside the door and into a large laboratory. Machines churned all around him. He grinned in the dim light. "In a few months, I will have enough hydrogen to bring the day of judgement to the universe." he thought. It had taken him three years to construct the machines around him from the equipment he had stolen over the years. He knew stealing was a sin, but when it was done for God and all his teachings it was anything but. After three long years, he had constructed all this, and tomorrow the crescendo to his plan would begin. He had already constructed enough holy crosses to deliver to the churches around the universe on the different planets. All he had to do was harvest the hydrogen from the water and then get it into the cross's system. Then he would take on a fake identity and sell the bombs to the churches. Once all of them had gotten one, he would detonate them and then the universe would be reborn under him and his men. They would construct a new universe, one where evil was non-existent and where God was all that would matter. Anybody who had managed to survive the explosions would be executed on sight. He was well pleased with all this. Still, one thing concerned him. That girl Ed, she had yet to be fully broken. The death of her friend had taken a lot out of her, but still she was not as easily controlled as he had wanted her to be. That was not a good sign. That girl was as wild as a coyote, and unless she could be fully controlled, she was apt to try and escape or try something else. And if she got in the way of his plans, it could mean trouble for him. That was why he had to make sure that she was completely under control. "I can't take any chances. Not this late in the game." he thought to himself. "I have to make sure that girl is broken in before the hydrogen bombs are constructed." He walked further off into the lab, hoping it would ease his mind a bit.  
  
As John Mathers walked through his laboratory, Ed was rummaging around in his office. She had snuck out of bed after a period of time and had mustered up the courage to try to find a way to escape. She was busily digging in John's desk, hoping to find something that show her a way to get out of this place and into a place that Mathers and his men hadn't found yet, if there was such a thing here. There had to be though. There just had to be. Surely the mines held some sort of unexplored area that she could hide in for awhile. It didn't matter. She would give anything for a place to hide right now. Finally, she found a map of the entire lair. According to the information, the place was just under Calisto's surface. The mines were further underneath. But how had the bebop missed her? Surely they had scanned the planet to try and find her. And if they had, surely their computers would be able to detect something that was so close to the surface. Digging around a bit more, she found a stack of papers which contained computer codes. Ed grinned. If they had a computer here, maybe she could contact the bebop and get them to come here! Ed looked at some of the other papers. These ones revealed why the bebop hadn't found her by now. According to the paper, Mathers had constructed a machine in the rock walls that created an electrical pulse that generated a hologram of solid rock beneath the surface to hide the tunnels that led to where she was at. Normally, computers could see through holograms easily, but the magnetic pulse generated by the machine somehow extended the holograms power enough to prevent computers from seeing through it. Ed looked at the map again. The map said that the only computer in the entire underground complex was in a laboratory in the northern area. Deciding the time to escape had come at last, Ed looked at the papers which contained the codes one last time and tiptoed out.  
  
Ed had been lucky. When Mathers had gone into his laboratory earlier, he had forgotten to lock the doors to it. Ed snuck inside as quietly as she could. What she stumbled upon amazed her. Machines of all sorts pervaded the room. Ed's interest quickly turned to dismay when she realized what they were meant for. These were the machines used to spit water atoms into hydrogen. And then she knew what Mathers had wanted the water for the whole time. He wanted it to produce hydrogen! Ed knew what that stuff was used for. She had to hurry. If he managed to create the hydrogen, who knows what purpose he would use it for? Nothing good, that was for sure. Looking around, she found a computer in the corner of the room. She sat down at it and began to hack the systems with the codes she had found in John's office. It was a bit different for her doing it with her eyes, since she had always used her goggles for hacking, but she managed. After what seemed like hours, she managed to locate the bebop and hack the systems. She hoped that they had left her computer on. "Please, let them answer Ed." she thought to herself as she waited for a reply.  
  
On board the bebop, Ein was just about to lay down and take a nap when he heard a sound like TV static coming from Ed's computer. The welsh corgi trotted over and looked at the screen, waiting to see if something would happen. A moment later, a screen popped up and Ed appeared on it. Ein barked happily at the sight of Ed's face. "Ein! Is that you?" Ed asked on- screen from the lab on Calisto. "Edward is happy to see Ein. Ein go get Spike person and others! Ed needs to talk to them!" Ein rushed off to get Spike, Jet, and Faye.  
  
Spike was snoring on the bed in his room. Ein jumped up on the nearby table and gently nipped the bounty hunter to wake him up. Spike slowly sat up and let his vision adjust to the darkness of the room. Then he noticed a certain data dog sitting on his table. This never ceased to annoy him. "Get off the table mutt!" Spike snarled, pegging one of his shoes at him. Instead of yelping or running away as he normally did when Spike did this, Ein just sat there and let the shoe hit him in the chest. He barked and walked to the doorway. Realizing the dog wanted him to follow him, Spike groggily got out of bed and walked into the hallway. "What do you want mutt?" he asked. Ein walked to the kitchen and came back with a tomato in his mouth. "What's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked.  
  
"Woof!" Ein barked. He walked down the hallway again and came back with a photograph of Ed. Spike finally got the message the dog was trying to tell him. "Is it something about Ed's computer?" Spike asked. Ein barked again and went to alert everyone else. Jet and Faye soon showed up and went down the hallway with Spike and Ein. Despite the fact he was tired, Spike couldn't help but make a snide remark about Faye.  
  
"What's with the attire? Did you decide to work in an alley or something?" Once again, Faye booted Spike with her foot. She was dressed in nothing but a skimpy thong and a cheap blouse which she had won off of somebody in a bet.  
  
"Just shup up." she muttered, still half asleep. They gathered in front of Ed's tomato and looked at the picture on the screen.  
  
"Hi Spike person!" Ed said from the lab.  
  
"Ed! Where are you? Are you alright?" Jet asked.  
  
"Edward is far from fine. Ed doesn't want to go into where she is, but she has coordinates of place for bebop!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"Edward is on Calisto. The compound she is in is underground. Bebop missed it because of special machine Mathers constructed underground."  
  
"John Mathers is in their?!" Faye gasped. "He hasn't hurt you has he?!" Ed turned around and lifted up the back of her tank top to reveal the marks the whip had left on her back. Everyone cringed.  
  
"Edward got this for misbehaving." she said sadly.  
  
"Tell us where you are Ed. If you have information on your location inside the planet, tell it to us right now." Spike half growled.  
  
"Edward is located on the eastern side of Calisto. You couldn't see the doorway because Mathers created a machine that makes a special hologram that computers can't get through. There is actually a doorway under a boulder near the middle of the eastern side of Calisto. It leads to where Ed is. Others are here too. Please hurry and help Ed!" she said.  
  
"Alright, we'll come. We'll be there soon Ed! Don't worry!" Jet exclaimed, going off to his room to get dressed. The others followed him to get their weapons.  
  
"Thankies bebop!" Ed giggled, and logged off.  
  
Ed was ecstatic. Finally, she could get out of this hell hole. "Edward is happy! Edward can finally get awa-"  
  
"So you managed to contact them you bitch." came a voice from behind her. Ed froze and turned around slowly to see John Mathers and Matthew Straker standing behind her. Ed had never seen such rage on a human face before. Mathers' eyes were showing the whites, like an animal about to fight and his nostrils were flaring. "I had a feeling that you might try something like this." Mathers snarled. "You have contacted those outlanders and given them the coordinates of my base. Well if you're going to step out of line, I'll have to beat some sense into you. Matthew, you may take care of her." Matthew Straker started forward and threw a jab at Ed. Ed dodged to one side and then ducked as a kick sailed her way. She threw a punch of her own at is stomach, but it felt as though she had punched a brick wall. Ed ducked to one side as another punch came at her.  
  
The two of them sparred for five minutes, neither of them landing a single blow. Then Ed finally managed to get Straker across the nose with her foot, hard enough to make it bleed. But that was her biggest mistake. While fighting Straker, she had forgotten about John. Before she even knew what was happening, something very hard crashed into the back of her head. Ed tumbled to the ground and her stomach land on somebody's foot. She gagged and lay on the ground, gasping for air. Mathers grabbed her by her neck and brought her close enough to see his eyes.  
  
"You attacked one of your elders." he said, ignoring Ed's struggles to get free. "Do you know what the bible says about rebels?" he asked. Ed only screamed and snapped at him with her teeth. John slammed her against the wall. "I have always considered myself a parent to you Ed. Not the type of parent your thinking of. I mean the type of parent that educates their children in the ways of God. Of course, the child belongs to the parent and it says in the proverbs "He who attacks his father of mother must be put to death.", so I think you know what must be done. Straker, take her to the back room of the lab." John ordered. Straker grabbed Ed's arm and dragged her towards a door in the west area of the laboratory. Ed began to scream.  
  
What happens next? I'm not gonna tell you. You'll have to wait for the update. Sayonara! -Randall Flagg2 


	8. final chapter

Okay, final chapter. I'm sorry for not thanking you guys for reviewing. If you're mad, forgive me. Thankies for the reviews nice people! Oh great, now I'm talking like Ed. Anywho, here's the last part to my story. Enjoy! (Not coke, the story).  
  
Oh yeah, and I've added last names to Mark and Luke in the previous chapters and in this one. So if you wonder where the last names came from, look in the previous chapters. And the secondary genre has been altered a bit. Just a reminder, in case you're wondering about anything. -Randall Flagg2  
  
Ed was dragged backwards into the back room of the laboratory, all the while kicking and screaming and snarling like an animal in a hunter's net. Matthew Straker didn't mind this at all. He took it like one who had been there before and been through it all. It was difficult for him to control the girl as she thrashed madly in his grasp, but he managed. Soon enough, Ed was dragged back into the room and when she saw what was lying on the ground, she screamed even louder. On the ground was a wooden cross. Her cross. Ed's struggles became greater still and Straker was forced at last to let go of her. Ed charged towards the doorway when something heavy hit her in the back of the head. She fell to the ground and felt the heavy object strike her again, this time on one of her legs. She turned and saw her tormentor holding another instrument of pain, this one a long stick. Ed scrambled to her feet. It hurt like hell, but she had to escape or face the same fate that her friend had. Just before she could get out of the room completely, Straker struck her a third time, this time jabbing the stick into Ed's back like a sword. The stick struck her in the middle of her back, making her arch like a bow. The hacker gasped and fell to the ground, panting and moaning.  
  
"Not so tough now, are you?" Straker chuckled. Ed snarled at him. Normally, getting Ed mad was the most dangerous thing a human could do, but Matthew Straker was not intimidated. This girl was nothing. Just a rebel who needed to be put to death. Sneering, he shoved his foot forward Her growl turned into a yelp of pain as he kicked her in the mouth, bringing blood to it. "If you're going to act like an animal, I'm going to treat you like an animal." He raised the stick and brought it slamming down on Ed's back. Ed tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. Straker continued beating her back until John entered the room. He held a large wooden mallet in his hand and large wooden nails in the other.  
  
"You have done enough. Let us proceed with making her just like Christ." he said. Straker nodded his head. He drew from his robe a dagger and sliced it through Ed's clothes. Her slacks, tank top, and panties were sliced down the middle, just missing her skin. Before Ed could stop them, her clothes were peeled off of her like peanut shell halves.  
  
"Stop it! Let Ed go!" she screamed.  
  
"Oh I'm afraid we can't do that." Mathers said. "You have committed an unforgivable sin and must be punished for it. Bring her to the cross." Matthew Straker dragged the now naked Edward across the room and flung her onto the cross. She started to get up, but Straker hit her with the stick again and she fell back. She felt her wrists being held down by her tormentor. Ed screamed even louder as she saw Mathers advance on her. Straker forced down her right arm against the cross's vertical piece. Before she could move, Mathers positioned the nail over her wrist and pounded it into her with the mallet he held. Ed's face drained of color and turned parchment white. For a moment she was just laying there, devoid of any emotion over what was happening. Then she opened her mouth and pealed fourth deafening shrieks that would only come from the agonized throats of the damned. Blood flowed out of the deep wound like bloody ribbon flapping in the breeze. Mathers didn't seem to mind. She wasn't the first one he had heard in such agony. He pounded the nail twice more and the nail was fully embedded in the cross. He quickly grabbed up the girl's left arm and proceeded to do the same to it as well. Ed was now completely nailed to the cross, shrieking into oblivion. Matthew Straker came back with a holly headband with razor bits on them. Mathers took it and placed it on Ed's forehead. Her head lashed from side to side, each time causing the headband to cut it more and more.  
  
"Help me with this. Go wake everybody up after that. I want them to witness this punishment as a warning to all that might bring outsiders into God's domain." John ordered. Matthew helped John heft the heavy cross and carry it through the doorway. Blood coursed down Ed's arms as she was carried down the hallway and back to the main room, leaving a red trail. Matthew did not need to wake the prisoners up after unlocking the door to their cells. The screams that were flowing out of Ed's mouth like a river woke them almost instantly. They went outside, closely followed by Luke Rawson and Mark Calhoun and gathered around the cross. Many were cringing at the sight before the. Many of the spectators were crying. Some had even fainted. Despite how many people they had seen executed in this manner over time, it was always new to them, each time being worse then the last. None of them dared draw away from that spot where the hacker had been mounted though. They had to watch. They knew what happened if they didn't. They only stood there, looking at the crucified Ed with expressions of terror on their faces. Only John Mathers and his followers were enjoying this. After all, wasn't it what she deserved? God was not mocked and neither were they.  
  
"Take your time in your death Ed. You will be in hell soon where these people are going. Ray is waiting for you!" Mathers chuckled.  
  
In sub-orbit, Spike Spiegal, Faye Valentine, and Jet Black were piloting the bebop towards Calisto. The time had come to find Ed and collect their bounty. They were hoping that Ed was alright. If she had gotten all those marks on her back for something she did wrong, who knows what they might have done to her. If anything had happened to her, they didn't know what they would do. They knew they loved her in their hearts, but they would not admit it. Bounty hunting was not normally a job where there was room for love. They were the exception to that rule.  
  
"So where are we supposed to look for her anyway?" Faye asked. "She didn't give us exact coordinates on where in the middle of the eastern half of Calisto we should look."  
  
"Just chill out Faye. We'll find her, and then we'll get our bounty. You did tell the authorities about where to find us right jet?" Spike said.  
  
"Yeah. This time I did it right before we left, so we wouldn't get beaten to our bounty like we have in the past." he replied. As he finished Speaking, the bebop landed on the icy surface of Calisto. Spike got out first, closely followed by the other bounty hunters. Even Ein was tagging along with them. The corgi had been a bit down since Ed's absence and he was in the mood to settle things with whoever had taken Ed away.  
  
The air was colder then Spike remembered since his last visit here when he had tried to find Julia and had ended up running into Vicious instead. At least they didn't need to wear spacesuits out here. After the gate accident, Calisto had somehow gotten enough air in what little civilization there was dwelling on it to spread over the planet. Still, it was incredibly cold and Spike wished he had brought his parka. As he shivered against the cold, Ein barked suddenly and raced ahead of them. They followed as quickly as possible. Ein stopped in front of a large boulder and barked towards the bebop crew, signaling for them to come towards him. Ein couldn't quite figure out why, but there was something about this boulder which intrigued him. It had Ed's scent on it, suggesting that she was nearby. He barked again.  
  
"Is this it?" Spike asked, looking at the boulder. He didn't know how they had managed to hide a base underneath such a huge thing. Unless they had an underground machine of some sort to move it, he didn't know how they could do it at all. "I don't know what that dumb dog is thinking, but I sure don't-" when Spike looked down, Ein was gone. Where could that mangy dog have run off to? If he didn't show up soon, Spike was going to show him the end of his shoe, repeatedly. "Alright you dumb dog, get out here or I'll-" Spike began when Ein came out of the boulder! How was that possible? Ein barked and walked back into it. Spike finally got the message and followed suite, along with his comrades. "They made a boulder hologram! Pretty smart." Spike thought to himself as he stepped inside.  
  
The interior of the boulder was as realistic as realistic could get. It was like breaking a rock in half and pressing it against your eye. Spike could understand how their ship's radar had missed the interior. The hologram was so well crafted inside as well as outside that the computer had mistaken it for a real boulder instead of an image and had thus been tricked into misjudging the data for the surface of Calisto. If only it knew how wrong it had been. It was nothing but icy rock, but it was rock which they could walk through as if it were air. It was confusing at first, finding there way through something that seemed to cover them entirely, but they did.  
  
After awhile, Faye stumbled over something. When she knelt down to feel what it was, she felt a handle on it. Faye pulled on it and something opened up. Ein, smelling Ed's scent from where Faye was, went to where Faye was and suddenly fell a few feet into the ground. Spike and the others went to where Faye was and felt around where Ein had fallen. Where ground appeared to be was nothing at all. Jet smiled. They had found the entrance to the hideout of their bounty. They squeezed through the hidden door and descended into a murky cavern that led into a long tunnel. The three bounty hunters took out their guns. It was time to get what they had came for. They advanced down the hallway, watching carefully for anything that might be waiting for them, but there was nothing. There were no guards, not attack dogs, no cameras, no nothing. It was as barren as a tomb. They passed through some more rock wall holograms, but that was the only thing of interest. At last, they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. Intuition told them that the key to escaping financial debt and getting Ed back was behind that door.  
  
"Password please." said a computerized voice. Just their luck, getting stuck with a door that was password operated. Now what would they do? Spike went first.  
  
"Holiness?"  
  
"Access denied." said the voice.  
  
Jet tried his luck. "Heaven?"  
  
"Access denied."  
  
"Angels?" Faye asked.  
  
"Access denied." They tried for a whole seven minutes, each time getting it wrong. It might have gone on like that forever if Ein had not decided to step in. The corgi strode up to the machine and laid down on it with his head on his paws. They were dumbfounded. What was he trying to tell them? Realizing it would take a bit more to help the crew understand what he was saying, Ein stood up a bit and then laid back down. He continued this in a little pattern as if he was bowing down to the computer voice.  
  
Understanding at last what the plump dog was trying to say, the three of them said "Worship." all at once.  
  
"Access granted." the voice said, and the door swung open.  
  
The sight before them was unspeakable.  
  
In the center of a large field was a wooden cross which people were standing around, expressions of disgust on their faces. Four of the people wore white robes and cruel smirks. At first, they thought it was just another crucifix that the prisoners, if that was what they were, had been brought to for ceremonial purposes. And then Spike heard horrible, mad screeches which made his heart race with athletic speed. The bebop posse couldn't see what was on it at first until they noticed a clump of red hair near the top of the cross. The truth sunk into them with dream-like slowness. Spike opened his mouth and yelled four words.  
  
"OH MY GOD, ED!!!"  
  
The bounty hunter rushed forwards and saw the awful scene before him. Ed had been crucified, her mouth letting out horrible screams which might have frightened even the toughest of animals away. Blood flowed freely down her arms, not gushing only because the wooden nails that had been so crudely pounded into her were blocking it. Judging from all the blood that covered the ground, Spike guessed that she had been on the cross for awhile. It was so unbelievable, that he couldn't believe it at first. Then he turned to look into the face of John Mathers, who was watching this grisly scene with a look of utter enjoyment on his face. The man in white turned to look at Spike.  
  
"You've made it in time to see her die." he said.  
  
Spike could have sworn that he was seeing red at that moment. His vision was hazy and he could feel dull, animalistic rage beginning to take over his mind. He wasn't aware that he had clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood. All he was aware of was that he was starting for Mathers and that he was snarling uncontrollably. He knew that this guy would be brutal, but not to this extent. Even Vicious wasn't this cruel. The sight of Ed nailed to a piece of wood had angered him into something that was dangerously close to insanity, maybe even beyond it. He didn't care about the bounty anymore. He didn't care about anything at the moment except for killing the sick fuck in front of him. Spike lunged at him with a snarl. Mathers ducked to one side and delivered a kick to Spike's ribs. The cowboy went sprawling to the ground. For a skinny guy, John was incredibly strong. Spike scrambled to his feet and looked at his companions who were staring in shock at Ed. "GET THEM!!" Spike roared. "HELP ME THE FUCK OUT AND GET THEM!!" The words worked. They snapped out of their trance and began to fire their guns. The prisoners ducked to the ground while John and his men dodged the bullets as best as they could. Faye and Ein charged forward, one of them shooting, the other getting ready to bite.  
  
"Try all you want, pagans. You cannot defeat the grace of God." John said. He went for Spike and threw a punch at him. Spike started going Bruce Lee on his attacker, but Mathers was just as fast as he was strong. He blocked every punch and kick Spike threw at him and added a few punches of his own. Spike blocked them and the two sparred around the field, neither gaining the upper hand. Spike knew that he probably couldn't win against a guy who could move this fast, but he was going to try anyway.  
  
"Think of Ed." his mind said to him. "Think of what will happen if you don't save her." Spike's fighting spirit was fired up and he began to speed up his attack.  
  
Jet on the other hand, was circling the room, firing his gun and Luke Rawson. The man was fast, but not as fast as his leader. Jet fired shot after shot, missing each time. Rawson finally got close enough to knock Jet's gun out of his hands. Just as he did, Jet slammed his cybernetic arm into the man's stomach. Luke doubled over with a grunt. Jet wasn't as fast as Spike was, but he still had his strength. Before Rawson could regain his breath, Jet brought his knee flying up into the man's groin. Rawson screamed and fell to the ground. Jet took out some handcuffs and slapped them onto the man's wrist. One down, three to go.  
  
"Jet!" Faye called. "Get Ed down and bring her back to the ship!" Jet ran to the cross and grasped one of the nails that held Ed to it. When he pulled on it, Ed screamed again.  
  
"Ed," he said to the hacker girl, "this is going to hurt but I can't get you down unless I take the nails out." he said. Through a red haze of pain, Ed nodded her head. Jet pulled on the nail which seemed more like a tent stake with all the force he could muster. It jarred loose and Ed's arm flopped to the side like a ragdoll. Blood flooded out of her wrist in large gushes. Jet tore off a large piece of his shirt and blocked the wound with it as best as he could. It didn't stop the blood flow, but it slowed it down. Jet freed her other arm, plugged it up as best as he could, and took her down from the cross. He took her in his arms and began to race back towards the door. God in heaven, he hoped they could save her. Medical technology had increased greatly over the years, but Jet wondered if even the best doctors and surgeons could fix these wounds. They were deep and had punctured the veins in her body, and if they didn't get her some medical attention soon, she would die.  
  
"Hurts." Ed whimpered in his arms. "Edward hurts."  
  
"It's alright Ed. We're here for you. We're going to help you. You'll be alright." Jet was not aware he was weeping. He also failed to notice that Mark Calhoun was racing for him, his eyes bulging in crazed fury.  
  
"Put her back you fucking dirty blaspheme! She must be punished for her sins!" Calhoun stopped as a furry shape jumped up from behind him and sank it's fangs into his legs. He fell forward and crashed onto the ground, face first. His nose broke and the blood began to gush almost immediately. Mark whirled on the welsh corgi which had latched onto him and seized it violently by it's throat. But Ein was not in a peaceful mood at the moment. These people had hurt him and Ed, and they were going to pay dearly. Ein growled and thrashed out Calhoun's grip and bit him on his other leg. At the same time, the man shoved his arm outward and caught the dog in his neck. Ein's yelped and let go. Calhoun struggled to his feet and lunged at Ein. Ein jumped to the side and tore at the man's cheek, taking a warm chunk of flesh. Mark screamed and fell back, kicking out his feet as he fell. One missed, but the other hit Ein in the mouth hard enough to knock out some of his teeth and break his nose. Ein and Mark both hit the ground at the same time, Mark hitting his head on a rock, knocking him out and splitting open the back of his head. Ein whimpered and lay on the ground, hoping that the others would finish things up in time. He was badly hurt and the fight wasn't over, but he had bought his masters time by taking out one of the attackers. That was enough for now.  
  
Faye was dealing with Matthew Straker as best as she could. She was not the type of woman who needed protection, but she was having trouble keeping up with the blonde man. He was quite fast, and each bullet she shot at him missed him by a few feet. Faye fired more shots at him and was stopped when the man's powerful fist crashed into her mouth. Faye dropped her gun and threw a punch. It hit Straker in the stomach with amazing force, causing him to back off. That was all the time Faye needed. She jumped up and shoved her fist forward, hitting him in the neck this time. Straker gagged and clutched at his throat. Faye smirked. It was time to finish the job. She raised her gun and smashed it into Matthew Straker's head. The man crumpled to the ground. "Game over pal." Faye thought to herself.  
  
As the Jet carried Ed off to the bebop and Faye and Ein rested from their fight, Spike continued to fight with John Mathers. The two of them had been trading blow after blow for quite some time, but neither showed signs of wearing down. Spike would hit him, get hit, and the pattern would continue in rapid succession. It seemed like something out of the bible. God and the Devil would duke it out through the entire book, but neither would win until the end when the Devil lost his powers and God threw down to burn and writhe in his own fire for the remainder of eternity. And if this was the holy book, then Michael and the angels were confronting the dragon at long last. Spike ducked behind John and threw some kicks at his face with blinding speed. He blocked them and charged at Spike like a bull. Spike sidestepped and charged after him. Mathers turned around and grabbed Spike up by his throat. He slammed his fist into Spike's chest, breaking the bounty hunter's ribs. Spike gasped in pain. John smirked at him.  
  
"You tried to hard to find me and like a sinner you try to devour me. But in the end, God delivers me from the mouths of the lion and sets me down in his kingdoms. When I'm finished with you, I'll take your friends to and mount you up. Since you can't be saved, I'll have my disciples turn the crosses upside down to show who you were born of." he said. It was the wrong thing to say. Spike had had enough of this prick and what he did. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Spike kicked John Mathers in the face. John yelled in surprise and dropped him. Spike came at him, snarling.  
  
"Fuck your religion and your beliefs you sick fuck!! Those rules and beliefs applied to the times they were written and not now! I really hate people like you. But the fact that you crucified people to kill them is going too far! I don't care if murder is a sin or not, I'm killing you here and now!" Spike roared. John jumped to the side as Spike tried to punch him again. Spike whirled around and kneed his opponent in the head. John's head jerked up. Spike wasted no time and head-butted him in the stomach. Spike then came back up and delivered an uppercut to Mather's face. His head rocked back and he fell to the ground. Spike fell on him and began to deliver a series of savage punches to his face and body intending to kill him for all that he had done. Spike's vision had become hazy again and he was barely aware of how badly he was beating the man. All he knew was that he was enjoying this, and that he wanted to see him suffer. Spike just may have killed him, had Faye not pulled him off.  
  
"You've done enough, Lunkhead. If he dies, we won't get our bounty." she said. And Spike had definitely done enough. John Mathers' face had gigantic bruises and his nose was gushing blood. Both of his eyes were black as coal and blood was running from his mouth. He was unconscious. Spike finally calmed down. He made this man pay for what he had done to Ed and there was no more need to do anything more except turn him over to the authorities and collect the bounty on his head. Spike got up and looked at the prisoners. They were all staring at him in awe and amazement. Spike was guessing that these people had never seen somebody stand up to their captor before. Spike didn't want to stick around for talking and the such like. He just wanted to get out of here. As he began to walk towards Ein to pick the beaten corgi up, the door at the back of the room opened and Jet walked in with a group of police behind him.  
  
Epilogue  
  
Ed had just narrowly survived her punishment. She was almost drained of blood when Jet had gotten her to the hospital and it had taken two months for her to recover. He and Spike had stayed with her the entire time and had witnessed Ed's painful recovery. When Faye had asked them how they had fixed her, Spike would say "Don't ask." and leave it at that. Faye figured it was better left that way. How some doctors had managed to fix Ed's veins when she had lost so much blood and probably gotten splinters inside her arms was better left alone. As for the bounty they collected, most of it was used to pay for treating Ed and Ein's wounds. They were left with 10,000 woolongs, just enough to keep them going for six months.  
  
As for John Mathers and his men, they were given to the authorities and sentenced to life in a maximum security prison. The laboratory equipment in the back of the compound was confiscated and junked. There was no mentioning of the people he had crucified. They had decided that such a business was better left unmentioned. The people he had captured had been taken and placed back in their original homes on the different planets. None of them spoke about what had happened between them and the madman who had controlled their lives for so long.  
  
2 months later  
  
"Wheeee!" squealed the voice of Ed as she sprinted down the hallway, spinning a terrified corgi around in her arms. Life on the bebop was good. Sure, Spike and Faye were fighting like cats and dogs, but she didn't mind. Things were back to normal. She was free from the terror which had controlled her life for that terrifying period of time. She would no longer live in fear of the monster who had killed a friend of hers. Ed was back on the bebop and she was here to stay. It had taken awhile for her to fully recover from the shock of her encounter on Calisto, but she got over it. For two months she had been very depressed, and she had lacked her usual bubbly bluster. She would sometimes wake up in the night screaming from nightmares of the place where she had been held prisoner and she wouldn't go back to sleep until Ein would sleep with her. She still had those dreams, but she had been getting better. Other then that, she was back to normal.  
  
"Dinner!" Jet called from the kitchen. Those words never ceased to bring the kid and corgi rushing at top speed to the kitchen. Soon enough, Ein was eating a bowl of dog food and Ed was eating a steak. Everybody was particularly enjoying the food since it had been the first time in awhile that they had eaten meat that wasn't made out of Tofu. Spike even gave a small piece to Ein, which was quite out of character for him. Once again, some things were best left unexplained. Ed looked around the room with her happy gaze. Everything was back to normal.  
  
Later in the night, sometime before ten thirty, Ed wandered down the hall, dressed only a red silk nightgown which Jet had bought her as a coming home present after she had gotten out of the hospital. Ed normally didn't like dresses, but she liked this one because it matched her hair perfectly and she liked the way it looked on her. She said it made her look shiny. Her mind was wandering again and Ed had a feeling where it was going to wonder to. All those memories of her imprisonment on that place raced into her mind. "No, just leave Ed in peace." she whispered into the darkness. The shadows of the bebop's hallway seemed to leap at her like wolves springing on a deer. Ed knew they would not harm her, but the way they resembled her tormentors made them all the more frightening. Ed turned around to go back to her room.  
  
"Woof!" Ein's bark stopped her. She turned towards him and watched Ein come up to her. The corgi, sensing Ed's sadness, began to whine softly. Ed stroked his head. The warmness of his head calmed her, but it did not stop the sadness welling up in her. She looked at him again. Ein's eyes showed happiness and love in them. Love for her. The look that Ray had given her before he had died.  
  
Before they had killed him.  
  
"Did he really love me?" she thought to herself. Maybe he did, although she doubted it. Thinking of him brought tears to her eyes. She remembered his kindness, meeting him by falling on him, the laugh they had shared in the bathroom, the time they spent together in the mines. All of those converged on her like a guided missile. Overcome with grief for her friend, Ed sank to the floor and let out a wailing cry. None of the bebop woke up, despite her wild cries. Ein whimpered and nuzzled her. He couldn't stand it when she cried, which was very rare for her. Ed tried to say something to her companion but all that came out was a kind of "Waaahh waahhh waaahh." sound. Ed sobbed bitterly for her friend. Her cries eventually became sniffles, and she just sat there on the ground, thinking of her late friend. She got up and sat on her knees. After all she had gone through on Calisto, she had wanted nothing to do with God or anything related to religion. But she couldn't stop herself. She put her hands together and said a silent prayer for Ray. Then she got up. Ray was out there, somewhere. She knew it. And even if he only liked her as a friend, she knew he wouldn't want her to be sad. Ed went to her room and curled up under the blankets. Ein hopped up and fell asleep with her. Soon enough, they were sleeping and going into the land of dreams.  
  
End.  
  
That's it. Hope you liked it. Sorry for not thanking you for the reviews again. I just got wrapped up in my work since this was my first story. Bye. Randall Flagg2 


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